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Reds 2 Red Sox 1
Luis Castillo tossed six dynamite innings of shutout baseball and Tony Santillan slammed the door on a nail biter of a 9th inning in a 2-1 win over the Red Sox Tuesday night at Fenway Park. It was the Reds first win at Fenway since Game 7 of the 1975 World Series. The Red Sox scored a run in the 9th and put runners on the corners before Santillan blew away Trevor Story to end it.
The Reds finish May with a winning record of 14-13 for the month. It's their 11th winning full month since end of 2013: 10-34-1 overall.
Castillo: 6 IN, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 K, 100 pitches/59 strikes. He was on it from jump. He struck out nine through the first five innings. He got 22 swing and misses on 47 total swings: 10 fastball, 8 changeup, 4 slider. He escaped trouble in a wild 6th inning. After sitting for a while during the Reds extended half of the inning, he walked back-to-back batters on eight pitches to start the 6th inning. He went 3 & 1 on Rafael Devers before eventually getting a full-count 4-6-3 DP and then struck out the majors leading hitting in Martinez (.367) to avert disaster. In the 4th inning, he worked around a Martinez nine pitch walk, after being ahead 0-2, and a passed ball that put him in scoring position with one out.
Ice breaker: The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the 6th after a 2-out throwing error by Rafael Devers on a Nick Senzel grounder scored Reynolds. The inning started with back-to-back hits by Almora and Matt Reynolds that put runners on the corners with no out. It knocked Wacha out of the game. A fine running catch by Kiki Hernandez on a bases loaded shot to centerfield by Stephenson ended the threat.
Insurance policy: The Reds added their second run on a 9th inning infield single by Matt Reynolds. Shortstop Xander Bogearts made a spectacular stab of the smash but his throw got away from 1B Franchy Cordero and Alejo Lopez scored. Lopez was pinching running following a Moustakas single.
What are the odds? Joey Votto led off the 5th inning with the Reds first hit of the night. He doubled off the top of the fence padding in right field (385 feet)....on the very top....and it bounced back into play. He later hit one on the top/edge of the Green Monster (398 feet) that bounced back into play for a double. The shots were at 103.9 and 103.6 off the bat.
Moving up: Votto's first double was his 796th career extra-base hit, moving him past Johnny Bench into 2nd place in franchise history. Pete Rose is No. 1 with 868. He also passed Barry Larkin to move into 3rd all-time in total bases (3,528). Bench is No. 2 at 3,644 and Rose No. 1 at 4,645. He tied Larkin for most second most doubles (441) in franchise history with his 8th inning double. Rose at No. 1 with 601.
Bullpen: Alexis Diaz took care of the 7th on 11 pitches and went back out to record an out in the 8th before Hunter Strickland came on to finish the inning.
Santillan handled the 9th for the save....but it was harrowing. Hernandez led off with a bouncer up the middle for a single. Devers double to left and Almora threw to 3rd (wrong base) and runners were at 2nd and 3rd with 0 outs. Santillan struck out Martinez and got Bogaerts to ground out. But a Verdugo grounder glanced off Votto's glove (gift single) to score a run and cut it to 2-1. Santillan then struck out Story on a 98 mph hour fastball.
Tweak: Tyler Naquin suffered a left quad strain while running out a ground ball in the 4th inning. He was replaced by Aquino in the bottom of the inning.
Multiple hit nights: Almora had two hits and is now up to .347. He has multi-hits in four of his last five games. Reynolds collected three hits.
End of the line: Kyle Farmer's nine game hit streak came to an end with an 0 for 3 and BB.
Scary moment: Boston 3B Rafael Devers, standing in the on-deck circle, got nailed in the chest by a check swing foul ball off the bat of Kiké Hernández. Devers stayed in the game.
Pitcher's duel: Castillo and Michael Wacha each took a 1-hit shutout to the 6th inning. Wacha retired the first 12 batters faced.
Back-to-back: Castillo (6.0) and Tyler Mahle (6.2) each allowed one hit over the last two games.....and no runs.
Scratched: Tommy Pham (left calf discomfort) was a late scratch from the starting lineup. He was replaced by Senzel, who hit No. 3 in the order for the first time in his career.